WASHINGTON -- The metropolitan areas encompassing Indianapolis-Carmel, IN, and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH, tied for the title of most affordable major U.S.

HONG KONG -- Mainland China door exports are expected to top US $2 billion in 2007, up from US $1.3 billion in 2006, according to Global Sources' China Sourcing Report: Doors 2007.

WASHINGTON -- Robust gains in public and private nonresidential construction spending overpowered the continuing slump in homebuilding in April, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), a construction trade association in the United States that represents more than 32,000 firms.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES --A much-anticipated green building rating system will be introduced as a pilot in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year, according to gulfnews.com.

MONTREAL - Vance Communications Canada announced today that Salon Industriel du Bois Ouvré  (SIBO) 2008 will move to Place Forzani in Laval, QUE, Oct. 23-25, 2008. SIBO is Quebec's only trade show dedicated exclusively to secondary wood products. Vance acquired the event from Reed Exhibitions Canada in December 2006. 

QIONGLAI CITY, CHINA –According to the FORDAG Network, China’s first furniture export industrial zone will be built on a 328-acre site in Qionglai City of Sichuan Province. Construction for the zone will begin in January 2008 and be completed by 2010. The purpose of the zone is to allow Sichuan furniture enterprises to have production capacity. More than 50 Sichuan furniture production enterprises will be centralized in the zone.

MISSISSAUGA, ON – Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has completed the purchase of specialty resins and paper overlays producer Dynea North America from Dynea Chemical Oy of Finland. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Stiles Machinery Inc. announced that it acquired the Howard S. Twichell Co. of Addison, TX. The acquisition will enable Stiles to better serve its customers in the TX and OK markets. The Howard S. Twichell Co.

MONTREAL – Conifex Inc., a newly-formed forestry and sawmilling company, announced it is acquiring Domtar’s Forest Products Division, including sawmills and timber rights in Quebec and Ontario. “Our goal is to become the leader in forestry and sawmilling in Eastern Canada and the business we are acquiring provides us with a solid foundation to build upon,” said Ken Shields, chair of the board of directors of Conifex.

CLEVELAND - Sales of decorative laminates in the United States are forecast to increase 3.8% per year to 16.6 billion square feet in 2011, valued at $8.2 billion. Gains will be sparked by increased demand from the flooring industry, where the market for laminate flooring is projected to advance 9.6% per annum to 1.5 billion square feet in 2011, according to The Freedonia Group Inc., an industry market research firm.